The everyday need of low income Bolivians can be defined as a big issue, no matter if it is a good day or a bad day.

During the last week of chaos here in Bolivia, a lot of low income people who are trying to survive by selling on the streets, risked their lives like never before. Osvaldo a 10-year-old boy had no other choice but to go out on the street to sale Salteñas (typical Bolivian small pies made of meet) when he found himself in the middle of a battle between soldiers and police and civil unrest. Hoping that he would sell all the Salteñas in his basket, he had to stand against a wall in an old building to protect himself from the shooting. He was fearful, perhaps terrified for what was going on in his midst, but he had something more important in his mind, he needed to sell his merchandise to bring some money for his family to survive.

Today when I was watching the news, guess whom I saw? Yes, there was Osvaldo on TV, walking down the street and yelling "Salteñas, Salteñas." Probably he was thankful for the gift of another day of life, because many people like him died in the middle of that battle that was started by a bad decision from the government.

At this point the opposition of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is asking for his resignation. The spark was the tax he wanted to impose on the people, but there are many other unsolved problems. This taxation caused the people in Cochabamba, La Paz and Santa Cruz (the largest cities in Bolivia) to go to the streets to protest their anger against the government.

For reason yet to be investigated, the police and the military started a battle and open fire to each other leaving 10 Policeman and 4 Soldiers and many civilians killed in La Paz. When people saw this chaos they turned out to the streets, now not only to protest but to destroy the city. They were indignant for the action taken by the government thru the military. There were fires in the city, destruction of buildings and an open opportunity for thieves to brake into shopping centers, houses and small businesses.

There are many losses that the government must help repay and we breathe a state of uncertainty. Bolivia may look serene and normal but it seems to be a momentary kind of a tension filled peace.

People are expressing fear about what may happen in the near future. That is why we, as missionaries in Bolivia are asking you to pray for wisdom and brokenness on the part of the government as well as for the opposition, hoping that they arrive to a positive resolution in the country and that battles like we had last week would never happen again.

Iris Morales